This is a gorgeous property in Hakone, slightly further away than many hotels in the area but we found it after a short walk from Sounzan Station.
The front door is quite concealed, but once we got inside staff were very attentive and got us checked in and showed us to our room. The room itself was gorgeous - modern with authentic Japanese touches, very spacious and light and an inviting private onsen outside.
Staff provided tea and sweets upon our arrival as we unfortunately missed the tea ceremony during the day, and we appreciated this gesture. The room is also all-inclusive so tea, sweets, minibar, dinner and breakfast were all covered.
From our experience with the staff, it felt like we were the only people in the property. We saw no other guests, and staff were very available to us. This was a great level of service, but it did mean that we felt during our time at the bar and dinner that we didn’t have as much privacy as you might hope.
Dinner is a 10-course tasting menu of French-Japanese cuisine, and we were excited to experience such a nice meal on our trip. We were the only people at dinner, and the full meal lasted only 50 minutes. This led to courses feeling rushed, and left no time to savour the courses or the pairing drinks as we had to quickly move on. For a luxury experience, I would’ve hoped for better pacing and more time to enjoy.
Overall a beautiful property and a great reset in nature, but small tweaks could make the experience truly 5 stars.